Need a few longer HDMI cables for a project so I figured I would run to a store and pick them up quick. Checked Best Buy, Target, and Walmart and the cheapest 10-12' HDMI cable was still $17 each! A quick check on Amazon shows I can get a 3 pack of 10' HDMI cables for $14.99 with free 2 day shipping. Guess I won't be finishing this project tonight.

Which makes me wonder, do most people not bother to price shop? Who pays $17 for an HDMI cable?

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C(-)ris
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Throwback Thursday Signature:

I used to know all the different areas in a Fry's store where they stocked cables, they used to have the high priced name brand stuff in plastic shell packaging on display in the Audio/Video section. But back in another corner of the store you could find the no-name stuff that's in a plastic bag, priced reasonably. I think the last time I bought HDMI cables at Fry's several years ago it was a 3-pack for around $12-$15.

Suspect it is the person who must have it now or today or someone who has bought some item and gets the cable at the same time. Some years back I stopped by Radio Shack for an HDMI cable and left without one ($35ish for a Radio Shack cable and $79 for the monster version). Nowadays micro center or Frys or Altex might have cheaper cables, or special lengths but keep extra cables around. Interestingly, found some HDMI cables from a remainder stock at dollar stores. Goodwill's computer works stores used to have 'em.

Best Buy used to charge at least $300 for cables per HD tv install. They hated HDMI... One cable that replaced audio AND video, one cable to rule them all...

I love Goodwill.
My source for brand new or almost new Apple aluminum wired keyboards, $12 and $7 bucks.

Harvest them once a month.
They do have cables, but my stash is quite sufficient right now....

fivebelow has HDMI cables for $5



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2019 10:40PM by Forrest.

Stores think they can get away with high prices for ancillary items. Someone shops and decides on a TV, and they then NEED the cable, and aren't likely to price shop for it.

You'd think at least Walmart wouldn't play that game.

max has a great point about Goodwill and other thrift stores. Wonderful source for things like cables.


Good luck.

- Winston

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Be seeing you.

I was at Costco today and saw a package of 4 Apple accessories for $59.99, made me wonder what the list price of each was.

$19.00 - 12W USB Power Adapter
$9.00 - Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter
$19.00 - Lightning to USB Cable
$29.00 - Earpods with Lightning Cable
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$76.00 Costco bundle saves you $16.01, but there still seems to be a huge amount of profit margin in that.

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Forrest
fivebelow has HDMI cables for $5

....nice.....thanks for the tip.......just the tip......

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

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C(-)ris
Who pays $17 for an HDMI cable?

I paid almost twice that for the Belkin Ultra High Speed cable (48 Gbps). As far as I know, Belkin is the only company making such a cable.

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Article Accelerator

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C(-)ris
Who pays $17 for an HDMI cable?

I paid almost twice that for the Belkin Ultra High Speed cable (48 Gbps). As far as I know, Belkin is the only company making such a cable.

Why? You have an 8K 120hz TV and something that can output that connected to it? It is 1s and 0s, you either have the bandwidth or you don't. No sense wasting money if your TV doesn't need the bandwidth. It isn't like analog where the signal quality could be improved by a better connection.

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C(-)ris
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Throwback Thursday Signature:

...so I figured I would run to a store and pick them up quick.

That's why.

Unless the local Dollar Store has the HDMI cable you need, you'll likely pay more at a B&M store.

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Two for two, I'm good now.

We are a government of laws, not men.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I've bought USB 2 cables and Category 5 100 Mb ethernet cables at Dollar Tree - they work fine. I haven't seen HDMI cables at Dollar Tree yet.

B&M stores sell these items at much higher prices to boost their profit.

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C(-)ris
...Who pays $17 for an HDMI cable?

Article Accelerator seems to have answered that question!

TV, Computer, Printers = Slim Margins
Cables, Adapters, Software, Ink/Toner = CA-CHING $$$$

Wanna see really silly cable prices? Visit a HomeDepot...
6 ft. Ultra-Slim HDMI Cable $25; although their site lists cheaper ones that must be shipped.

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39°36'17"N 75°44'43"W

DuckDuckGo
The search engine that doesn't track you.

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C(-)ris
Which makes me wonder, do most people not bother to price shop? Who pays $17 for an HDMI cable?

Nope.

I think a lot of those sales go to people buying TVs who need the cables right away.

Quote
GGD
I was at Costco today and saw a package of 4 Apple accessories for $59.99, made me wonder what the list price of each was.

$19.00 - 12W USB Power Adapter
$9.00 - Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter
$19.00 - Lightning to USB Cable
$29.00 - Earpods with Lightning Cable
--------
$76.00 Costco bundle saves you $16.01, but there still seems to be a huge amount of profit margin in that.

Apple doesn't provide resellers with much margin at all. Costco just made a new deal to sell Apple gear, and it's conceivable that they have a more substantial discount than others, but they may have been selling that bundle below cost.

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I spent $6 at Big Lots.

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Forrest
fivebelow has HDMI cables for $5

10 foot lightning cables, 6 foot braided as well. The kids get some every year in their stockings!

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

People are told, 'Go get me a USB cable that will work with this new printer'. No one goes to B&M to comparison shop - they go there to get the thing and go home. I bet they make more money on cables than on computers.

Quote
C(-)ris

Quote
Article Accelerator

Quote
C(-)ris
Who pays $17 for an HDMI cable?

I paid almost twice that for the Belkin Ultra High Speed cable (48 Gbps). As far as I know, Belkin is the only company making such a cable.

Why? You have an 8K 120hz TV and something that can output that connected to it? It is 1s and 0s, you either have the bandwidth or you don't. No sense wasting money if your TV doesn't need the bandwidth. It isn't like analog where the signal quality could be improved by a better connection.

The "why" is quite simple: I have an Apple TV 4K attached to an LG UHD TV with HDR support (Dolby Vision). The two devices refused to sync up to support maximum spec* with any of the (quality) HDMI High Speed 18 Gbps cables I had. Once I made the connection with the Belkin Ultra High Speed cable (48 Gbps), the sync was immediate and has been trouble-free ever since.


* 4K HDR, 4:2:2 chroma, pass-through maximum spec multichannel audio

I bet they make more money on cables than on computers.

Razors and blades, printers and ink...

You want in now?

Like I said, convenience costs.

---

Two for two, I'm good now.

We are a government of laws, not men.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
Winston
Stores think they can get away with high prices for ancillary items. Someone shops and decides on a TV, and they then NEED the cable, and aren't likely to price shop for it.

You'd think at least Walmart wouldn't play that game.

max has a great point about Goodwill and other thrift stores. Wonderful source for things like cables.


Good luck.

- Winston

I recall from when I worked at a computer shop that we would make more profit on a USB cable than on a computer.

......standard in most retail industries.....the essential stuff like cable, batteries, etc....things that people need 'right away' and will buy now......jacked up.......

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_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!